"And something our Weyrlingmaster certainly never mentioned," K'lon replied with an edge to his voice.

"The information is restricted to bronze and queen dragons, K'lon. I presume you discovered it by chance."

"Yes, rather." K'lon's expression mirrored the surprise he must have had. "I was late. I knew A'murry would be worried. I thought of him, waiting for me, anxious, when I didn't appear on time, and the next thing I knew, I had!"

"Bit of a shock, isn't it?" Leri had a grin on her round wise face.

K'lon grinned back. "I wasn't all that certain how I'd managed it."

"So you practiced again the next afternoon?"

K'lon nodded, relaxing imperceptibly since the Weyrwomen had apparently accepted his feat with good humor. "I report to Master Capiam in the morning and he tells me the schedule. I'm at Igen in the afternoons and everywhere else on Pern in the mornings and evenings. I'm very careful." His smile was broad delight.

"You'll be more careful from now on," Leri said, her voice austere and her manner forbidding. "A'murry has improved-so you've informed us. But you cannot keep on being in debt to yourself for double time. Therefore, instead of flying Fall this afternoon, you will spend it-and only this afternoon-with your friend. From now on, you will keep to the normal number of hours in a day. Holth will supervise. And we will see that Master Capiam schedules you to drop in at Igen frequently."

"But-but ..."

"Only one mistake, K'lon," Leri pointed her forefinger, oddly twisted now by the joint disease, shaking it at him in dire emphasis, "and you're too tired timing it to realize the risks you've been taking. Only one mistake, and you will deprive A'murry of yourself forever. Not just for an afternoon." Leri paused, judging the effect of her warning on K'lon, who lowered his eyes. Holth crooned on an admonitory note and Rogeth answered, startled, from outside. K'lon looked up at Leri, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Oh yes, we can, you know, when the matter is disciplinary. I think you'd prefer Holth to Sh'gall and Kadith in the matter of this infraction?"

K'lon cast a look of entreaty at Moreta, who shook her head in slow denial. K'lon looked bereft, quite different from the energetic assured man who had entered the weyr, but he had to be restricted.

"I'll be needed at Fall this afternoon," he said finally in a low uncertain voice. "How can I explain to A'murry? We can barely make up two wings as it is, and Ista can only supply one wing and ten replacements."

"You may tell A'murry that we have been considerably worried about the pace at which you've been working. That we felt it more advisable for you to rest this afternoon, because you've been working so hard that your judgment in Fall might be impaired, and we can't afford to lose you!"

"K'lon, we need you, too," Moreta added.

"In fact, the Healer Hall and the Weyr are deeply indebted to you," Leri said, her voice and manner kindly again. "Go on with you now, and send that scamp, M'barak, on any other duties Capiam scheduled for you. And you will never, K'lon-never-mention to anyone, especially A'murry, that dragons can slip between one time and another."

Holth's eyes gleamed with a red tinge as she extended her neck toward K'lon. He pulled himself up straight, awed by the dragon's fierce appearance.

"Yes, Leri."

"And?" Leri indicated Moreta.

"Yes, Moreta!"

"We shall never refer to this again. Give our regards to A'murry." Leri was all affability. "If it weren't so damn cold here right now, I'd suggest that you bring him and his Granth to Fort, but I suppose he is better off in the sun at Igen!"

The chastened rider left the weyr with a heavy tread. The two Weyrwomen could hear Rogeth chirping.

"He's going to act the martyr for a while," Leri said with a sigh.

"Better that than a real one."

Then Leri began to chuckle. "I had the worst time keeping a proper face, Moreta. He was very clever about timing it, I must say. If he hadn't acquired that suspicious tan and bleached hair, we might never have guessed."

"He had too much energy! Positively obscene if you knew how dragged out I feel! Can Holth keep track of him?"

"As long as he thinks she is, it doesn't matter. You will check in on Rogeth now and again, won't you, my clever love?" Leri thumped her queen with affection. "Now, if you'll just harness her up, Moreta, we'll be off to Fall."

Moreta regarded her friend a long time until Leri gave an impatient shrug.

"Oh, go boil the fellis!" And she wriggled herself off the stone couch.

As Moreta harnessed the old queen, she wondered, in a very private way, if there was any restriction Orlith could put on Holth to prevent their martyrdom.

No.

Moreta blinked with surprise because she had put such a careful cap on her worry. And she didn't know which dragon had spoken, Orlith or Holth. Then she concentrated hard on the correct placement of the leather fighting straps. When Leri was ready, Moreta saw rider and queen to the ledge and watched them lumber off into the air with the two wings, Fort's contribution to Pern's protection against Fall. The bulging farewell from the Weyrbound dragons as the wings went between was a curious, prayerful compound of yearning, defiance, and encouragement. Moreta found that seeing so few dragons on the Rim reminded her that the Weyr was vulnerable, all the Weyrs-and Pern. It was hard enough to think of her family's hold, deserted, emptied by the pandemic in a matter of days. She knew but could not assimilate the fact that her personal loss was duplicated all over Igen, Ista, Telgar, and Keroon as well as at Ruatha. That wonderful Gather! To be so closely followed by such a disaster!

Resolutely Moreta turned from the chill blue skies and busied herself peeling and preparing the fellis fruit for juice. Her hands were not as shaky as they had been the day before and for that she was grateful, as the knife was sharp and the tough skins difficult. As the thick pulp was coming to the boil, she ran an inventory of the remaining stocks, amazed that what she had considered ample only six days before could have been reduced to a few bags of this or that. With all the riders vaccinated, the Weyr should not require massive amounts of febrifuges, stimulants, and chest remedies. Which was a good thing, for at that season of the year it would be impossible to restock.

"Where is K'lon?" she asked Orlith.

He is at Igen.

"How is Sh'gall?" Moreta asked out of a sense of duty.

He sleeps deeply and Kadith says that he ate well. He recovers.

Moreta was amused at the indifference in Orlith's voice-she didn't care, either, and that suited Moreta perfectly. When Orlith rose to mate again-

Holth comes! Falga and Tamianth are severely wounded!

Moreta paused long enough to take the simmering fellis juice from the brazier before she hurried out. Holth emerged above the Star Stones and dove straight for her ledge. Moreta hurried up the stairs. With an agility that Moreta could not believe, Leri swung off her dragon, shedding the cumbersome agenothree tank so that it clanged hollowly on the stone, rolling to the wall.

"Tamianth has taken a terrible scoring, Moreta," Leri said, her face gray with shock and anxiety. "The healers can manage Falga's leg, but Tamianth's wing . . ." Tears runneled the flight dirt on Leri's face. "Here. Use my jacket! My helmet will fit and the goggles. Oh, go!"

"Orlith can't!" Moreta felt anguish, sensing Leri's distress through Holth.

"Orlith can't, but Holth will!" Leri was shoving her jacket sleeve on Moreta's outstretched arm. "You're more use to Falga and Tamianth than anyone else could be. You've got to go! Holth won't mind and neither will Orlith. This is an emergency!"

Both queen dragons were agitated, Orlith coming out to her ledge to croon and bellow, extending her neck up toward her rider, Leri, and Holth. Moreta pulled the jacket on. As Moreta was so much taller than Leri, it didn't quite come to her waist, and Leri's flying belt had to be cinched in to the last notch. Moreta crammed on the helmet and eyepieces and swung up on the fighting straps before she could reconsider.